Mobile communication device with a transition effect function

ABSTRACT

A mobile communication device includes a memory for storing a first frame image corresponding to a first menu and a second frame image corresponding to a second menu, a display unit coupled to the memory for displaying frame images, and a control unit coupled to the display unit for controlling the display unit to display, in sequence, the first frame image, at least one corresponding transitive image generated according to the first frame image or the second frame image, and finally, the second frame image when the control unit receives a command for transferring the first menu to the second menu.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of Ser. No. 10/906,400, now pending,filed on Feb. 18, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile communication device with atransition effect function, more particularly, to a mobile communicationdevice with a transition effect function when transferring from a firstmenu to a second menu.

2. Description of the Prior Art

As modern society's information infrastructure progresses, electronicdevices are commonly utilized in every area; for example, convenient andlight mobile phone devices are widely utilized and have become a verycommon part of our daily lives when communicating with others. Themobile phone device allows us to exchange information by making aconvenient phone call. The mobile phone has developed very rapidly forthe past several years. New mobile phones are equipped with more refinedfunctions. Increased usage of the mobile phone has caused an increase inproduction. The newly produced mobile phones offer a variety of newdesigns with the trend moving towards smaller sized phones. Therefore, amobile phone program design of how to update a new visual effect becomesan important issue.

When a user interface of the current mobile phone switches applicationprograms, function menus, and photo previews, there is no special effectaccompanying the changing of screens; simply switching from a previousscreen to a next screen. For example, please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1illustrates a diagram of transferring a first function menu to a secondfunction menu according to the prior art.

When a user is operating a keypad of the mobile phone and changes thedisplay screen from the first function menu to the second function menu,the user sees the screen image change directly and immediately from thefirst function menu to the second function menu. There is no transitioneffect during the changing of screens. The transfer of screens simplychanges directly and immediately from one screen to another in themodern technology mobile phones. This lacks a variety of visual effectfor the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The claimed invention relates to a mobile communication device with atransition effect to solve the above-mentioned problem.

The mobile communication device of the claimed invention comprises amemory for storing a first frame image corresponding to a first menu anda second frame image corresponding to a second menu, a display unitcoupled to the memory for displaying the frame image, and a control unitcoupled to the display unit for controlling the display unit to display,in sequence, the first frame image, then at least one correspondingtransitive image generated according to the first frame image or thesecond frame image, and finally the second frame image when the controlunit receives a command for transferring the first menu to the secondmenu.

A method of controlling a mobile communication device to transfer afirst menu to a second menu, the method comprising receiving a menuswitching command, and a display unit of the mobile communication devicedisplaying, in sequence, a corresponding first frame image of the firstmenu, then at least one transitive image generated according to thefirst frame image or the corresponding second frame image, and finally,the second frame image.

Based on design, the system can meet the requirements of commercialtelecommunication carriers or personal users. The system can easilyutilize transition effect algorithms and transition timing to display avariety of effects to the user interface.

These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt becomeobvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading thefollowing detailed description of the preferred embodiment that isillustrated in the various figures and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of transferring a first function menu to asecond function menu according to the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram of a mobile communicationdevice according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a mobile communication device fortransferring a first menu to a second menu according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an architecture graph of a corresponding transitive imagegenerated according to a first frame image or a second frame image.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagram of a transition frame displayed by adisplay unit during the transition effect of a fade out/fade in screen.

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of a transition frame displayed by adisplay unit during the transition effect of a cross fade screen.

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a transition frame displayed by adisplay unit during the transition effect of a blind screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Please refer to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 illustrates a functional block diagram ofa mobile communication device 10 according to the present invention. Themobile communication device 10 can be a mobile phone. The mobilecommunication device 10 comprises a casing 12 for cladding internalcomponents of the mobile communication device 10; a memory 14, installedwithin the casing 12, for storing a first frame image corresponding to afirst menu, a second frame image corresponding to a second menu and atransition effect program code 16; a display unit 18, installed withinthe casing 12 for displaying a frame image, the display unit can be aliquid crystal display (LCD); and an input module 20 comprises aplurality of keypads 22 for inputting a command to transfer the firstmenu to the second menu. For example, the keypad 22 can be a directionkey for transferring to the previous function menu or the next functionmenu. The mobile communication device 10 further comprises a controlunit 24, installed within the casing 12 and coupled to the memory 14,the display unit 18 and the input module 20, for controlling the displayunit 18 to display, in sequence, the first frame image, then at leastone corresponding transitive image generated according to the firstframe image or the second frame image, and finally the second frameimage when the control unit 24 receives a command for transferring thefirst menu to the second menu.

Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a mobilecommunication device 10 for transferring the first menu to the secondmenu according to the present invention. The steps are as follows:

Step S100: The control unit 24 controls the display unit 18 to display acorresponding first frame image of the first menu.

Step S102: Utilizing the input module 20 for inputting a menu switchingcommand of transferring the first menu to the second menu to the controlunit 24.

Step S104: After receiving the menu switching command, the control unit24 executes the transition effect program code 16 to generate, insequence, at least a corresponding transitive image according to thefirst frame image corresponding to the first menu or the second frameimage corresponding to the second frame image of the second menu.

Step S106: The control unit 24 controls the display unit 18 to displayat least a transitive image.

Step S108: The control unit 24 controls the display unit 18 to displaythe second frame corresponding to the second menu.

The above-mentioned steps will be explained in detail. The display unit18 of the mobile communication device 10 displays a corresponding firstframe image of the first menu. When the user operates the keypad 22 ofthe input module 20 and transfers the first menu to the second menu, theinput module 20 inputs to the control unit 24 a menu switching commandfor transferring the first menu to the second menu, after receiving themenu switching command, the control unit 24 executes the transitioneffect program code 16 to generate, in sequence, at least acorresponding transitive image according to the first frame imagecorresponding to the first menu or the second frame image correspondingto the second menu. Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is an architecturegraph of a corresponding transitive image 32 generated according a firstframe image 30 or a second frame image 38. The transition effect programcode 16 comprises an interpolator 34 and a cadence 36. The transitioneffect program code 16 determines the number of transition frames duringthe transfer of the first frame image of the first menu to the secondframe image of the second menu, then the interpolator 34 calculates theframe image of the transitive image 32 according to the first frameimage 30 or the second frame image 38 or the combination of the firstframe image 30 and the second frame image 38. As part of the transitioneffect algorithm, different types of effects can be stored as differentfunctions; the transition effect algorithm consists of a fade out/fadein screen, a fade in screen, a fade out screen, a cross fade screen anda blind screen.

For example, the transition effect display of the fade out/fade inscreen can be utilized according to frame image data generated by thefirst frame image 30 and according to second frame image data generatedby the second frame image 38. Please refer to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustratesa diagram of a transition frame displayed by the display unit 18 duringthe transition effect of the fade out/fade in screen. According to FIG.4, the frame image 30 displays a graph A 40 of a highest tone and thesecond frame image 38 displays a graph B 48 of the highest tone. Afterthe control unit 24 executes the transition effect of the fade out/fadein screen of the transition effect program code 16, the graph A 40 of alighter tone will be generated according to the first frame image 40 andwill be displayed on the display unit 18 to enable the fade out effectuntil the first frame 40 fades out completely to generate a white screen44. The graph B 46 of a lighter tone will be generated according thesecond frame image 48 and will be displayed on the display unit 18 toenable the fade in effect until the second frame fades in completely.The theory of image processing of the transition effect of a simple fadein and fade out screen will not be further mentioned.

To utilize and display a transition effect of a cross fade screen, atransition frame is formed according to a frame image generated by thefirst frame image 30 and the second frame image 38 of FIG. 4. Pleaserefer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of a transition framedisplayed by the display unit 18 during the transition effect of thecross fade screen. As shown in FIG. 6, the first frame image 30 displaysa graph A 50 of a highest tone and the second frame image 38 displays agraph B 56 of the highest tone. After the control unit 24 executes thetransition effect of the cross fade screen of the transition effectprogram code 16, a graph 52 and a graph 54 will be formed by combinationof the first frame image 50 and the second frame image 56 to generate anincreasingly lighter tone graph A 52 and an increasingly darker tonegraph B 54 and will be displayed on the display unit 18 to enable aneffect of graph A 52 fading out and an effect of graph B 54 fading insimultaneously, until the first frame image 50 fades out completely andthe second frame image 56 fades in completely. The method of thetransition effect of the cross fade screen is generated according to thefirst frame image 50 and the second frame image 56, the first frameimage 50 and the second frame image 56 can be combined according todifferent proportions of gray level resolution. In the effect of thefirst frame image 50 fading out and the second frame image 56 fading insimultaneously, the estimated proportion of the decreasing gray levelresolution of the first frame image 50 and the estimated proportion ofthe increasing gray level resolution of the second frame image 56 areallocated according to the number of transition frames. For example, ifthe number of transition frames is set to nine frames, then theestimated proportion of the gray level resolution of the first frame 50will be set at a 100% and there will be a 10% decrease at each intervaluntil 0%. As there are nine transition frames, the proportions from thefirst transition frame are: 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, and10%. The estimated proportion of the gray level resolution of the secondframe 56 will be set at a 0% and there will be a 10% increase at eachinterval until 100%. As there are nine transition frames, theproportions from the first transition frame are: 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%,50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%.

To utilize and display a transition effect of a blind screen, atransitive frame is formed according to a frame image generated by thefirst frame image 30 and the second frame image 38 of FIG. 4. Pleaserefer to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a transition framedisplayed by the display unit 18 during the transition effect of theblind screen. As shown in FIG. 7, the first frame image 30 displays agraph A 60 of a highest tone and the second frame image 38 displays agraph B 66 of the highest tone. After the control unit 24 executes thetransition effect of the blind screen of the transition effect programcode 16, an overlapping of transition graph 62 and a graph 64 will beformed according to the first frame image 60 and the second frame image66 and will be displayed on the display unit 18 to enable the effect ofthe blind screen as a part of the first frame image 60 diminishing and apart of the second frame image 66 appearing simultaneously, until thefirst frame image 60 diminishes completely and the second frame image 66appears completely The method of the transition effect of the blindscreen is generated according to the first frame image 60 and the secondframe image 66, the graph data of the graph A and the graph B areinserted into the different locations of the transition frames, duringthe transition effect, the proportion of the graph A will decreaseslowly and the proportion of the graph B will increase slowly, finallythe frame image 60 will diminish completely and the second frame image66 will appear completely.

In the above-mentioned, after receiving the menu switching command, thecontrol unit 24 executes the transition effect program code 16 toperform a transition effect and generate a corresponding transitiveimage. The decision of the interpolator can either be a method of aninternal system default, a random selection, or a user setting. Thetransition image can be a frame image (e.g., fade out effect) generatedaccording to the first frame image, a frame image (e.g., fade in effect)generated according to the second frame image, and a frame image (e.g.,fade out/fade in, blind effect) generated according to the first andsecond frame. Additionally, inserted among the transition images can bea frame image generated according to the first frame image (fade outeffect), a frame image generated according to the second frameimage(fade in effect), a frame image generated according to the firstand second frame (fade out/fade in, blind effect), therefore differentarrangements can present the desired transition visual effects.

In deciding the transition timing, the cadence object of the transitioneffect program code 16 determines the timing of the transition images tocontrol the cadence of the transition, which means that when the cadenceobject is triggered, the interpolator object of the transition effectprogram code 16 will calculate a new transitive image for transmittingto the display unit 18. The method of triggering the cadence object caneither be a timer trigger, keypad trigger, or other kind of triggermechanism. For the timer trigger method, the mobile communication device10 further comprises a timer for the control unit 24 to control thedisplay unit 18 to display the time interval of the first frame imageand the transition frame image or the time interval of the transitiveimage and the second frame image. After receiving a command fortransferring the first menu to the second menu, the control unit 24controls the display unit to display the first frame image, thetransition frame image, and the second frame image according to the timeintervals provided by the timer. For example, if the setting in thetimer is set to 0.1 seconds to trigger then the cadence objectcalculates a new transition image every 0.1 seconds, then in every 0.1seconds the new transition image will be displayed on the display unit18 to present a corresponding transition effect. Furthermore, the keypadtrigger method utilizes the keypad 22 of the input module 20 to input anactivating command to the control unit 24 to trigger the cadence object,such as setting the keypad 22 to trigger the cadence object every timethe keypad 22 is pressed for the cadence object to continuouslycalculate new transition images. After receiving the activating commandfrom the input module 20, the control unit 24 can control the displayunit 18 to display the transition image calculated by the cadenceobject. Hence after each keypad 22 is pressed to trigger the cadenceobject, the user can view the new transition image on the display unit18. Therefore the decision of the cadence can either be a method of aninternal system default, a random selection, or a user setting.

In comparison to the prior art, the mobile communication device with atransition effect function is capable of switching application programs,function menus, and photo previews; effects are added during thechanging of screens to enhance and make more interactive the userinterface. This increases the value of the mobile communication deviceby providing a variety of visual effects when the user is operating themobile communication device.

Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerousmodifications and alterations of the device and method may be made whileretaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the abovedisclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and boundsof the appended claims.

1. A mobile communication device comprising: a casing; a memoryinstalled within the casing for storing a first frame image of a firstfunction menu and a second frame image of a second function menu; adisplay unit installed within the casing coupled to the memory fordisplaying a frame image; a control unit installed within the casingcoupled to the display unit for controlling the display unit to display,in sequence, the first frame image, then a frame image of at least onetransitive image, and finally the second frame image when the controlunit receives a command for transferring the first function menu to thesecond function menu; and an interpolator within the casing coupled tothe control unit for interpolating a visually altered version of thefirst frame image, a visually altered version of a second frame image,or a mixture of both as the frame image of the at least one transitiveimage.
 2. The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the memoryfurther stores a transition effect program code, and the control unitexecutes the transition effect program code to generate at least onecorresponding transitive image when the control unit receives a commandfor transferring the first menu to the second menu.
 3. The mobilecommunication device of claim 1 further comprising: an input module forinputting a command for transferring the first function menu to thesecond function menu.
 4. The mobile communication device of claim 3wherein the input module is capable of inputting an activating commandto the control unit, and the control unit is capable of controlling thedisplay unit to display the at least one transitive image afterreceiving the activating command from the input module.
 5. The mobilecommunication device of claim 3 wherein the input module comprises aplurality of keypads.
 6. The mobile communication device of claim 1wherein the mobile communication device is a mobile phone.
 7. The mobilecommunication device of claim 1 wherein the control unit controls thedisplay unit to display a new transition image after each keypad press.8. A mobile communication device comprising: a casing; a memoryinstalled within the casing for storing a first frame image of a firstfunction menu and a second frame image of a second function menu; adisplay unit installed within the casing coupled to the memory fordisplaying a frame image; a control unit installed within the casingcoupled to the display unit for controlling the display unit to display,in sequence, the first frame image, then a frame image of at least onetransitive image, and finally the second frame image when the controlunit receives a command for transferring the first function menu to thesecond function menu; and an interpolator within the casing coupled tothe control unit for interpolating a mixture of the first frame imageand the second frame image to generate the frame image of the at leastone transitive image.
 9. The mobile communication device of claim 8wherein the control unit controls the display unit to display aplurality of new transition images according to a user adjustablecadence.
 10. The mobile communication device of claim 8 wherein thecontrol unit controls the display unit to display a new transition imageafter each keypad press.